keskiviikko 12. elokuuta 2009

How to make Viili

A childhood memory: homemade viili in my grandma's food cupboard, topped with fresh berries, jam or sugar and cinnamon. I haven't come across viili outside Scandinavia, and if someone knows or wants to make up an English word for it, please send me suggestions. Basically, it is milk mixed with milk bacteria, which makes it sour and thick. A bit like yogurt, but not really. As with other milk bacteria products, viili also has a soothing effect on your stomach.

The easiest way to make viili, and to be honest, the only way I know, is to buy a ready made viili from the shop, then take a tablespoon of it and mix it in a serving bowl full of lukewarm milk (no fat free milk here), and a drop of cream, if you want a creamy top (the best part, I always think). Leave this mix in room temperature, covered, for 24 hours and you have yourself a soft and silky, milky treat.

6 kommenttia:

I recently got a viili starter culture from culturesforhealth.com. I live in America :D

I've never heard of viili until recently, and never saw it in any store in my life. The only way I'm aware of to make viili in America is to buy a viili starter culture online.

I'm skeptical of the consistency, as I've never had viili before and am not sure what it's supposed to taste like, or feel like texture-wise. I think I messed up the first batch or two but I'm hoping that I get it right eventually.

Anyway, I think this is REALLY cool, and it's a shame more people don't know about this. Thanks for sharing :)

that's nice to hear, that you can actually buy it online. Our viili tastes a bit like sour milk I suppose, but not in a bad way. If you know buttermilk, they are somewhat similar in their tartness. The consistence could be something similar to set yogurt, maybe a bit softer. I'm curious, how do they instruct you make the viili? I've read all kinds of instructions, especially online, when I find that it can be made successfully in an easy way too. Hope it turns out good for you! Other than berries it's good with cereal, muesli or satsumas for example.

I recently ordered some fresh viili starter from eBay after failing to get the first one going.

The instructions I received are as follows (please note, there was more information, but this is the part of the document that explains how to culture the yogurt):

***For fresh yogurt starter, we have included 2 Tablespoons of starter. Place the starter in a glass quart size jar and pour 2 cups of milk over it. What helps in getting all the thick starter out of the bag is taking some of your 1 cup milk, add it to the bag, shake it a little, and then pour that into the jar.

No need to heat the milk or warm it at all. Straight from the fridge is fine. Stir well. You always want to use a ratio of 1 tablespoon starter per 1 cup milk. Cover with a coffee filter or paper towel (something that will allow air in but keep fruit flies out – not cheesecloth) and a rubber band. LABEL YOUR YOGURTS, SO YOU DON’T GET THEM MIXED UP :). We write on our jars with a Sharpy marker.

Allow to culture undisturbed on the counter at room temperature (68-86 degrees) and out of direct sunlight for about 12-18 hours, until set. If your house is warm, it may not take that long. You must monitor it. If your house is cool, then wrap the jar in a thick towel (yet do not cover the top) to help insulate. Yogurt is set when you gently tilt the jar and the yogurt stays firm. It will pull away from the jar somewhat on the sides. It will pretty much not move. IT COULD TAKE LONGER THAN 18 HOURS, AND THE PIIMA AND FIL MJOLK TEND TO TAKE LONGER, so please do not refrigerate until FULLY SET! Be sure and check it often. Once set, cover with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for 6 hours. DO NOT MIX before this. Do not take any from the batch just yet to start a new batch. It needs to finish setting in the fridge.

*Please note it will NOT get thicker in the fridge. Do NOT refrigerate until set as noted above. It must be thick before refrigerating.

Reserve some yogurt for your next batch (do not consume it all). Depending on how much you want to make next time, remember you want to reserve 1T. of yogurt (pure yogurt, removed BEFORE you add sweeter, fruit, or anything else) per cup of milk for your next batch, and so on.

I don't understand why it's *essential.* I thought I could just keep the culture going at room temperature.

I messed up the first batch, though, so this time I'm just going to follow the instructions and refrigerate it, and see how it goes! I'm after that "ropy, viscous" texture that I hear about viili so often.

What's your method? I'm hoping I can just keep a continuous batch going on the counter (like sourdough starter), because I do eat a ton of dairy, as whole milk and potatoes are generally the cheapest whole foods available over here, and that probably makes up 90% of my diet...so I'll probably be making viili every day, or at least very often, and keeping a continuous countertop culture going would be useful!

Then again, I could just be being greedy ;D I got kefir grains about 6 months ago, and have been making kefir every day. I'm at least thankful I have that!

nice to hear your experimenting! I think it's essential to put it in the fridge so that it won't go off, unless your going to eat it straight away. Though I prefer my viili chilled, not room temperature. My viili secrets are to have it with satsumas or rice krispies.